Peer Review

Postpartum Support International

Material Detail page

Reviewed:: Aug 2, 2008 by Psychology

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:: This site is the home of a non-profit organization that seeks to provide education and support relating to postpartum mood disorders. It is not a site designed for education, but for laypersons dealing with a postpartum mood disorder themselves, or seeking information as to how to assist a friend or family member suspected of suffering from such a condition.
Type of Material:: Most of the site consists of html/text-based presentations and reference materials. A few pages have some type of visual media that uses RealPlayer (and the site includes a link to download RealPlayer).
Recommended Uses:: The primary use of the site would be as a reference to gain more information about the topic of postpartum depression. Activities could be structured to use the site for students in a variety of classes, especially those dealing with human development and abnormal behavior.
Technical Requirements:: No special technical requirements are needed.
Identify Major Learning Goals:: From the site: "The purpose of the organization is to increase awareness among public and professional communities about the emotional changes that women experience during pregnancy and postpartum....The goal is to provide current information, resources, education, and to advocate for further research and legislation to support perinatal mental health."
Target Student Population:: The target audience for the website is both public and professional communities. The site is simple yet accurate with a mixture of materials appropriate to a variety of students--from those in high school classes to graduate students and even faculty who want to learn about postpartum depression. The site is therefore appropriate for students and teachers in any psychology course that addresses mood and anxiety disorders.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:: There are no pre-requisites needed for the use of this site.

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:: This site has a wealth of resources on the topic of postpartum depression and perinatal mood disorders. It provides resources for women/mothers; for families and partners; and for healthcare professionals. Resources are written by professionals in the field (e.g., nurses, professors, therapists, doctors, etc.). It is a very well-designed and organized website.
Concerns:: The actual content offered on the site is quite limited. The site's primary goal appears to be to assist visitors in finding support services. The site is not designed to be used for educational purposes. Although a number of the resources are by mental and physical health professionals, the site also contains information on PPD in the news. Students may not readily distinguish between the two types of sources.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:: This site would be effective for a number of different student groups including those in human development, abnormal psychology, nursing and other medical fields, and even students in political science or interested in law school. (The site contains a history of PPD legistation in the U.S. as well as legislative updates.) An additional feature of the site that adds to its effectiveness is that the materials can be translated into a number of different languages (Spanish, Dutch, French, Italian, Portuguese, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese) and the brochures are available in Spanish, Vietnamese, Farsi, and Korean.
Concerns:: The material provided is quite limited in scope. The effectiveness of the site would be increased if it were more academic in nature (rather than for the general public as well) and did not focus so much on joining the organization or making donations.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

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Strengths:: This is a very well-maintained, attractive, and well-organized website that is easy to use. The information is appropriately labeled and easy to locate.
Concerns:: There are no major concerns about the ease of use.

Other Issues and Comments:: The site has a toll-free help line plus a list of support groups around the world. Books on PPD are available for purchase on the site.
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